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Aaliya has done a rather fabulous job of doing Rishi’s house up. As usual selecting the right furniture along with the lights, art and accessories, and placing them at the perfect vantage points in a house is really her forte. She has a knack for selecting beautiful furniture and making lovely settings in a house. I’m really going to convince her to open ASD in London when we return. Her talent needs to brought forward and London will be in an uproar once they realize a Duchess will design their house.
London! When are we going to return there, though? This question has been haunting me ever since Celia’s call two nights ago. We’ve been here in India for almost a month now and it is mid-November already. I’ve been in touch with Lydia and Peter at Annette & Co. and each time they’ve spoken to me in recent days, they are anxious to know when I’m returning.
I have a whole lot of tasks waiting for my approvals, a lot of documents and paperwork to sign off on and working from here is no longer feasible. It’s becoming imperative that I return and soon. I can’t remain here for long. Besides, we can’t hide forever. Aaliya and I will have to return to London and face whoever is trying to kill us once and for all.
Much to Mike’s dismay, we didn’t allow him to attend this function with us. It’s one thing for him to follow us around in our day-to-day lives. Even at Aaliya’s uncle’s birthday, we could easily introduce him as a friend. No one there recognized how he was constantly monitoring the people in attendance and keeping a watch over the entrances. But here, at this party, where the attendees are the top businessmen of India, I couldn’t introduce him like that.
These men are sharp and astute, and would have easily understood he is my bodyguard and I don’t want to explain them the story of my life right now. Mike refused to stay at home though and he is waiting in the car below, afraid to leave us alone even for a few hours.
But no matter that, right now, I focus on the people in front of me, all close friends, and tune back into the conversation I’m having with Sameer Sehgal, Rishi’s elder brother, his cousin Kabier and my other friends Rithwik Bali and Aditya Wahi.
All these men are industrialists, running multi-million dollar companies from India. From the corner of my eye I note that Sameer’s wife, Raashi, Kabier’s wife, Keya, and Rithwik’s wife, Aisha, are all spread on the couches with Aaliya and our other friends VJ and his wife Diya. They were all discussing their kids when I had heard them last.
VJ raises his glass to me in toast as he catches my attention on them. I smile at him in return. That guy had always been an enigma, but after finally accepting his heritage, he seems more at peace than earlier. Turning away from him, I focus back on the conversation in front of me.
“You guys doing okay?” Rishi asks as he nears us.
His brother replies before I do. “Rishi, I never thought I’d see the day you’d be hosting all of us in your house. I still can’t believe it.” Sameer shakes his head before saying, “I’m going to miss having you around at home. How could you leave Dad and me to handle that entire lot of females in our house?”
Rishi laughs. “Exactly why I wanted to move out, brother.”
“How are your sisters though?” I ask the two of them. “Weren’t they studying in London?”
“Yeah, they’ve finished their education and are back home,” Rishi replies. “Quite a nuisance they can be when they want to be.”
Sameer grimaces. “Yeah tell me about it.”
VJ joins our group now with a bowl of nuts, which he passes around to everyone.
“So, Rishi, do you plan to settle down now that you have your own house?” Rithwik asks with a naughty twinkle in his eye.
Rithwik was a huge risk taker before his son was born. He was into dangerous adventure sports just like I was at one time before I moved to India. But getting married and becoming a father tamed him, much like it had tamed me.
“No, please,” Rishi mutters. “I’m way happy the way I am right now. Single and always ready to mingle. Isn’t that right, Aditya?”
“You said it, bro,” Aditya concurs, clinking glasses with Rishi. “All these married men have become super boring. When was the last time you guys partied till the wee hours of the morning?”
VJ rolls his eyes. “You guys and your parties. They are never ending.”
Rishi squints at him. “Okay, you don’t need to answer the question. You never liked to party anyway, so you don’t know what you missed. Let the others respond.”
“Not my cup of tea anymore,” Kabier mutters.
“Been there, done that,” I respond with a shrug.
“What they said,” Sameer grins, pointing at Kabier and me with his glass.
“Yeah, same here,” Rithwik concurs.
“See, like I said, super boring,” Aditya repeats. He faces Rishi. “I have to go to London in mid-December for work. Why don’t you join me? We can hit some of the nightclubs together.”
“Oh, yeah. Sounds like a plan,” Rishi agrees.
“Speaking of London,” Sameer cuts in. He exchanges a glance with Kabier, Rithwik, Aditya and VJ before facing me.
“Yeah, London,” Rithwik repeats. “When were you planning to tell us that you are a Duke?”
Rishi chokes on his wine as he stares at the rest of them and then at me. “I didn’t tell them, I swear.”
“You knew?” Kabier gives him an accusing look. “Yet, you didn’t tell us?”
“So, everyone knows?” I ask, alternating my gaze between all the men. “How?”
Sameer purses his lips. “A few days ago, Kabier, Rithwik and I met in my office for coffee. We were discussing Brexit and its impact on trade with India. Rithwik started searching the net for some information and imagine our surprise when we saw your picture in one of the news articles on a British media site. It was from a few months back and we were quite shocked by everything we read on you.”
“And,” Kabier continued, “add to that, the fact that both Aaliya and you disappeared for months without informing any of us, led us to digging some more. In the end we figured that you’d been hiding here for a few years and then you lost your memory. But since you clearly remember us, we are not sure what exactly to believe anymore.”
“And, of course,” Rithwik adds, “I told Aditya and VJ. Sameer was to tell Rishi.”
“I forgot to tell him,” Sameer waves his hand dismissively. “Not that I needed to because my brother already knew apparently.” He faces me again. “So, you’re a Duke. Care to explain more?”
“Fuck!” I curse out loud.
If these guys, my friends, could find out about me so easily, then it’s only a matter of time before someone in my office here in Mumbai finds out. One call to a newspaper and it will be leaked everywhere that I’ve been here instead of holidaying in Europe with my family. I cannot put Aaliya’s family under the scanner, which they will be if the media finds out about me. Suddenly, I realize that my time hiding here is nearing an end. We will have to return and soon.
“You’ve gone awfully quiet, Damien,” Kabier states, watching me carefully. “Should we have not brought this up?”
I exhale out a breath. “Sorry, I was just processing everything in my head.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” Rithwik asks, cautiously.
“Guys, let him be,” Rishi interrupts, before I can respond. “He’s just about got his memory back and he still has quite a few gaps. Let’s not force him to discuss something he so obviously finds difficult.”
I nod, grateful to Rishi for his understanding. He and I have been the closest since the beginning. We both share a love of fast cars and he, of course, loves his bikes even more. He was the first friend I made after I moved here. His wildness had appealed to my untamed nature, which I had deliberately suppressed under the new persona I’d adopted here. And it’s because of him that the rest of these men are my friends too. It is thanks to Rishi that Aaliya and I were surrounded by a warm and loving set of friends here. Being with these men sort of reduced the pangs and aches I had in my chest when I missed Gabe and Jonathan.
And now that the truth is out, I do owe them an explanation. Hence, I tell them in brief the story of my life so far and as much as I remember of it.
In the end, they just ask me to be careful and thump my back before handing me a new drink to celebrate the return of my memory. After that, they don’t bring up the topic again. They continue to chat and catch up like we used to before.
And even though I thoroughly enjoy the evening, their revelation of stumbling upon my truth has left me reeling. My plan on hiding out here in Mumbai is crumbling. I’ll have to talk to Aaliya soon and figure out when we can return to London.
